The Three Erics (book chapter)
"The Three Erics" is the twenty-second chapter of Sideways Stories from Wayside School. Synopsis The nicknames for the Three Erics are all explained. Plot This chapter begins by mentioning there are three students in Mrs. Jewls's class named Eric: Eric Fry, Eric Bacon, and Eric Ovens. They are all known for being fat, and students would frequently joke that if all Erics sat on one side of the room, the school would fall over. Eric Bacon hates jokes like that, because he is actually the skinniest student in Mrs. Jewls's class. However, since Eric Fry and Eric Ovens are fat, everyone just assumes that everyone named Eric is fat. Eric Bacon attempts to refute this in a conversation with Jason, but Jason notes he must be fat because his name is Eric. Thus, he earns the nickname "Fatso." Eric Fry actually is fat, but he's also the best athlete in Mrs. Jewls's class because his body is solid muscle. However, nobody seemed to note that, because Eric Ovens is clumsy, and Eric Bacon, while a decent athlete for his size, is so skinny it doesn't matter. Henceforth, everyone else assumes Eric Fry is also clumsy and weak, because his name is Eric. When picking teams, Eric Fry was often the last picked, and even though he constantly performed home runs and fantastic catches, no one ever noticed them over the one time he dropped the ball. The chapter goes on to inform of a time Terrence threw a ball to the left when Eric Fry was playing right field. Fry almost catches the ball, but it ended up slipping out of his hand, earning him the nickname "Butterfingers." Eric Ovens is the nicest student in Mrs. Jewls's class, but everyone assumes he must be mean and cranky because the other two Erics are. Eric Bacon is mean because everyone insists he is fat, and Eric Fry is mean because he's tired of playing right field. Naturally, everyone assumes Eric Ovens is the exact same way. The chapter goes on to mention one time Eric Ovens was gladly greeting Allison in the morning, only for Allison to snap back at him telling him that if he has nothing nice to say, he shouldn't say anything at all. Now that all three Erics had nicknames, it was far easier to identify them. Whenever someone just said "Eric," either all three or none of them would respond, but with their own distinct nicknames, they would always know when they were being called. Characters *Mrs. Jewls (mentioned) *Eric Fry *Eric Bacon *Eric Ovens *Jason *Terrence *Stephen *Allison Trivia *This is the first chapter where Mrs. Jewls is mentioned, but doesn't appear. **This makes it the fourth chapter not to include Mrs. Jewls at all, the first three being "Mrs. Gorf," "Miss Zarves," and "Ron." *Both the spellings "Fatso" and "Fat-so" are used to refer to Eric Bacon's nickname in this chapter. *This is the first chapter to feature multiple characters in the spotlight. Gallery The Three Erics 1978.jpg|Dennis Hockerman illustration The Three Erics Chapter Illustration 1985.jpg|Julie Brinckloe illustration The Three Erics Chapter Illustration 2003.jpg|Adam McCauley illustration Foreign editions The Three Erics Chapter Illustration.jpeg|Peter Allen illustration (UK) The Three Erics Chapter Kitamura.png|Satoshi Kitamura illustration (Japan) Category:Sideways Stories from Wayside School chapters Category:Book chapters